


Late Night Contemplation

by CantSpeakFae



Series: Once More With Glitter [10]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Late Night Conversations, it's so fluffy I'm gonna die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 15:45:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15952487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CantSpeakFae/pseuds/CantSpeakFae
Summary: "If you meet him." Giles thinks. The idea of old world meeting new world is just too much for him to contemplate, especially at the end of a very long day stuffed full of un-contemplative things...





	Late Night Contemplation

Giles tries to call Jenny to apologize, again, for breaking their date. Her answering machine picks up.

A cheerful recording of her voice, and he’s left to leave a message at the tone.

“Oh, hello, Jenny...it's, ah, Rupert. I was hoping to apologize to you, rather than this blasted machine… Er, right. Yes. Ah, I am sorry for breaking our date...I had been looking forward to it...ah, rather very much, actually…”   
  
He wonders if she can hear him blushing from over the phone.   
  
“But something...something quite extraordinary came up, you see. An old...friend. A very dear friend, from out of the blue…”

It’s Jenny’s own good fortune that Rupert can’t hear the sound of her bolting from her dining room, where she had set herself up with a stack of ungraded papers, a pot of coffee, and five different coloured pens for variety when marking up the many, many,  _ many _ mistakes that were written out before her, to her living room where the phone was set up.

She wouldn’t have ignored it if she’d realized it was Rupert.

She shouldn’t be ignoring any phone calls, really, but… well, her Uncle was growing impatient. Her letters were no longer enough to keep him satisfied. He wanted to hear her reports on Angelus; wanted to listen for any signs of wavering or loss of self into her role and in the aftermath of having her date canceled, she couldn’t have possibly have had the mental fortitude to deal with Enyos as well.

But it wasn’t his voice leaving a message and she nearly flung over her entire stack of papers in her haste to snag the phone up from the receiver, taking a deep breath and settling down onto her couch with a blase expression she knows Rupert can’t see before she speaks.

“Rupert? Sorry, I wasn’t by the phone -- you still there? What’s this about an old friend?”

Consider her curious.

“J-J-Jenny...hello…”

Rupert's so startled to hear her real voice, he nearly drops the phone. As it is, he sits on the edge of his bed and absently scratches the back of his head.   
  
“It's, a, good to hear your voice...live, I mean… Er, how has your evening been?”

“Productive. I'm halfway through grading and still have a quarter of my will to live left…”

She idly twists the cord around her finger as she speaks, her curiosity not at all abated by his stammering deflection of her question, though she does wonder if she would have gotten more out of him if she hadn't picked up. Talking at her seems to make him less nervous than talking to her.   
  
“Not a bad night, all things considered. ...Are you okay?”

“Yes. Well, no. I’m not sure.”

He toes off his shoes and shifts to sit on the bed, with his back to the headboard.   
  
“I...frankly, I thought he was dead for the past fifteen years. I have been...proven mistaken.”

“...Okay, I have been on the Hellmouth too long, because I'm way less surprised by this than I should be.”

Jenny sighs, curling up into the corner of her couch and staring ahead, unseeingly, just focusing on the sound of his voice, trying to discern what he's feeling...but it's not easy over the phone.   
  
“So. You thought he was... did he fake his own death or just disappear? ...Is something you want to talk about or am I prying?”

"No, you're not prying..."

His soft smile can be heard in his tone of voice.   
  
“...But I'm not quite ready to talk about it yet, if that's alright. Suffice it to say, I imagine I'll be in shock for the foreseeable future.”

“...Do you think you'll be making it into work, tomorrow?”

Jenny's tone is idle. Collected and careless, like she's not fishing to find out if she's going to see him. She's had herself convinced that she wasn't at all put out about him having to cancel on her...but, hearing him talk tells her that she was only lying to herself.   
  
“I mean, I don't know how Watchers take days off. I've never seen you try.”

Giles breathes a quiet laugh and pulls off his glasses to polish them before setting them on his bedside table.

“We watchers are of a hearty stock...don't let the pasty, British pallor deceive you.”   
  
He ought to get undressed and put himself to bed, but with Randall tucked in on the sofa just down the stairs, Giles isn't sure how he'll ever manage to get to sleep.    
  
What if he does fall asleep, only to wake up yesterday morning...and this time, his father never intrudes in his Library, and Randall...is still long gone? As Jenny said, more or less, on the Hellmouth, the most absurd things have become quite commonplace...why shouldn't an overnight reset re-remove Randall?   
  
He settles for loosening his the and unbuttoning his waistcoat.   
  
“Yes, I'll be at school, tomorrow. In body, at any rate.”

“Good.”

That's her understatement of the night, but she's not ready to tackle just how relieved she feels. Part of her - a small, jaded part - had already convinced herself that this "friend" of his was a threat more than a blessing. Shadowy strangers from the past are rarely harbingers of good tidings, after all.   
  
But if he's well enough to come in, even with a confused mind, then that's one thing she doesn't have to worry about.   
  
“What about your ah...friend? Should I brace myself for a meeting?”   
  
Of course, she's still reeling from almost meeting his  _ father _ . 

“Oh, uh...huh. I, uh...I honestly don't know. What his plans are for tomorrow, I mean.  You wouldn't have to, ah, "brace" to meet Randall. For whenever you do meet him.”

" _ If you meet him," _ Giles thinks to himself. The idea of old world meeting new world is just too much for him to contemplate, especially at the end of a very long day stuffed full of un-contemplative things.   
  
Speaking of long days, Giles barely manages to suppress a yawn.   
  
“Shall I see you in the morning, then, before class? Perhaps for a coffee?”

Jenny smiles, softly, at the yawn in his voice and nods, even though he can't see him. It's a relief, at least, to know that she doesn't have to be afraid of whatever this "friend" is going to bring.

“Rupert, you hate coffee. Why don't we meet over donuts? In the library? Stick to our usual.”

Giles smiles, a warm flush suffusing his face and spreading through his body.

If feels...rather nice to be known.   
  
“Sounds perfect. Til tomorrow, then.”   
  
He can't bring himself to hang up first.

“Tomorrow.” Jenny agrees, unwillingly hovering her finger over the "end call" button. “...Goodnight, Rupert.”

“Good night, Jenny…”


End file.
